RIYADH: This summer, Ali Al-Mussa, son of the pioneering Saudi artist Abdulsattar Al-Mussa, made a surprising and significant discovery: an oil painting by his late father of a woman washing another woman’s feet.
Ali believes the painting dates back to 1979, and is likely the original on which Al-Mussa based his later series “Al-Ars fe Al-Rafae.” It is certainly a prime example of Al-Mussa’s figurative work, which focused on the everyday lives of Saudi residents.
“We know almost every single painting in the house,” Ali told Arab News. “But this artwork was never seen by any of us, except for my mom.”
Abdulsattar Al-Mussa in Moscow. (Supplied)
The painting was created in Moscow, where Al-Mussa lived for much of his life, and where he met his wife. It is based — as are so many of his works — on nostalgia for his homeland.
